Into The Wild - A Warrior Cats Rewrite
by lgbtqwarriorcats
Summary: A rewrite of Into The Wild that follows the story of Rusty, a kittypet turned apprentice of ThunderClan, one of the four alliances of wild cats who thrive within the forest.
1. Allegiances

**A/N:** Hello to any and all readers! Before I begin this story, I want to leave a little authors note meant to clear things up a bit.

So, this fanfic is essentially meant as a rewrite of Into The Wild. As you can probably tell by my username, I'm pretty big on LGBTQ cats, and I've always thought that it was kind of depressing that the canon series never had a single one. A while back I made a post on tumblr about this and someone suggested a rewrite of the books that would include more LGBTQ representation, along with fixing other issues found in canon. So that's where the idea originally came from...eventually it developed into a rewrite that, while keeping quite a few of the major plot lines along with the original characters, basically became more of a "what if?" fic.

It starts with the same basic idea of Rusty joining ThunderClan and becoming Firepaw and eventually Firestar, but it also branches out to explore many other plot lines that were not originally in the books.

Since a large part of this fic is the addition of LGBTQ representation, almost all of the characters are in some way LGBTQ. I didn't want to include pronouns, genders, and orientations in the allegiances because it simply looked too crowded and busy, but if you're interested in them you can visit the blog wcrewrite tumblr and find a link to a list of them in the description!

* * *

**THUNDERCLAN**

**Leader: **Bluestar - a blue-gray cat with a silver muzzle and blue eyes.

**Deputy: **Redtail - a small tortoiseshell tom with a ginger tail and yellow eyes.

_Apprentice, Firepaw_

**Medicine Cat: **Spottedleaf - a beautiful dappled tortoiseshell cat with amber eyes.

**Warriors:**

Thrushpelt - a light brown tom with a white spot on his chest and green eyes.

Rosetail - a light ginger tabby molly with amber eyes.

Thistleclaw - a spiky furred gray cat with white markings and amber eyes.

Lionheart - a muscular long furred golden tabby tom with green eyes.

_Apprentice, Graypaw_

Tigerclaw - a muscular dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes and a scar across his nose.

_Apprentice, Ravenpaw_

Whitestorm - a white cat with amber eyes.

_Apprentice, Sandpaw_

Willowpelt - a light gray molly with blue eyes.

Runningwind - a dusty brown tabby tom with amber eyes.

Mousefur - a small dusty brown molly with amber eyes.

Darkstripe - a skinny dark gray and black tabby tom with yellow eyes.

_Apprentice, Dustpaw_

Longtail - a lean silver tabby cat with blue eyes.

**Apprentices:**

Firepaw - a handsome ginger tabby cat with green eyes.

Graypaw - a long furred gray cat with amber eyes.

Ravenpaw - a small black cat with a dash of white on his chest and amber eyes.

Sandpaw - a light ginger tabby molly with green eyes.

Dustpaw - a dusty brown tom with amber eyes.

**Queens:**

Speckletail - a pale golden brown tabby molly with amber eyes.

Goldenflower - a golden tabby molly with yellow eyes. Mother of Swiftkit (black and white kitten with amber eyes).

Frostfur - a white cat with blue eyes. Mother of Cinderkit (fluffy gray kitten with blue eyes), Brackenkit (golden brown tabby kitten with amber eyes), Thornkit (golden brown tabby kitten with amber eyes), and Brightkit (ginger and white kitten with blue eyes).

Brindleface - a pretty light gray tabby molly with green eyes.

**Elders:**

One-eye - a pale gray cat who is nearly blind and deaf.

Smallear - a gray tom with small ears and amber eyes.

Halftail - a dark brown tabby tom with half a tail and yellow eyes.

Patchpelt - a small black and white tom with amber eyes.

Dappletail - a dappled tortoiseshell and white molly.

* * *

**SHADOWCLAN**

**Leader:** Brokenstar - a dark brown tabby tom with a crooked tail and amber eyes.

**Deputy: **Blackfoot - a large white tom with black paws and ears and yellow eyes.

**Medicine Cat:** Runningnose - a gray and white tom with amber eyes.

**Warriors:**

Boulder - a large gray tom with amber eyes.

Webfoot - a dark gray tom.

Clawface - a scarred dark brown tom.

_Apprentice, Littlepaw_

Russetfur - a dark ginger tabby molly with green eyes.

_Apprentice, Whitepaw_

Nightpelt - a black tom with amber eyes.

**Apprentices:**

Littlepaw - a small brown tabby cat with blue eyes.

Whitepaw - a black and white tom with yellow eyes.

**Queens:**

Tallpoppy - a light brown tabby molly with green eyes.

Dawncloud - a small pale ginger tabby molly.

**Elders:**

Ashfur - a gray tom.

* * *

**RIVERCLAN**

**Leader:** Crookedstar - a large light brown tabby tom with a twisted jaw and green eyes.

**Deputy: **Oakheart - a red-brown tabby cat with amber eyes.

**Medicine Cat:** Mudfur - a long furred light brown tom with amber eyes.

**Warriors:**

Leopardfur - a spotted golden molly with amber eyes.  
_Apprentice, Silverpaw_

Stonefur - a dark blue-gray cat with scarred ears and blue eyes.  
_Apprentice, Shadepaw_

Mistyfoot - a blue-gray cat with blue eyes.

Loudbelly - a dark brown tabby tom.  
_Apprentice, Heavypaw_

Blackclaw - a black tom.

Whiteclaw - a white tom.

**Apprentices:**

Silverpaw - a pretty silver tabby cat with blue eyes.

Shadepaw - a dark gray molly with green eyes.

Heavypaw - a large brown tabby tom.

**Elders:**

Graypool - a skinny dark gray molly with yellow eyes.

* * *

**WINDCLAN**

**Leader:** Tallstar - a black and white tom with amber eyes and a long tail.

**Deputy: **Deadfoot - a black cat with a twisted front paw and yellow eyes.

_Apprentice, Onepaw_

**Medicine Cat:** Barkface - a short tailed brown cat with amber eyes.

**Warriors:**

Mudclaw - a mottled brown tom with amber eyes.

_Apprentice, Webpaw_

Tornear - a brown tabby tom.

_Apprentice, Runningpaw_

Ashfoot - a gray molly with blue eyes.

**Apprentices:**

Onepaw - a brown tabby tom with amber eyes.

Runningpaw - a light gray tabby molly with yellow-green eyes.

Webpaw - a thin dark gray tabby tom.

**Queens:**

Morningflower - a pretty tortoiseshell molly.

* * *

**CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS**

Barley - a black and white tom with amber eyes.

Tiny - a small black tom with blue eyes, a white paw, and a purple collar.

Ace - a large black and white tom with green eyes and a colorful collar.

Brick - a red-brown cat with amber eyes and a green collar.

Smudge - a black and white tom with amber eyes and a red collar.

Princess - a brown tabby molly with white paws, green eyes, and a pink collar.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Here's the first chapter! This was very quickly edited and looked over, so if you spot any obvious mistakes, feel free to let me know.

* * *

A small, furry creature skittered across the paws of a ginger pelted cat, its little clawed feet scratching across the concrete.

"Get it, Rusty!" A plump black and white kitten called, his amber eyes wide with excitement. The tip of his tail twitched, brushing against the brown tabby who sat beside him.

"It's going to get away!" The tabby fretted, crouching lower as if she was prepared to leap down from her vantage point and make up for his ineptitude.

Rusty twitched his ears in annoyance, scurrying after the mouse. His pawsteps were sloppy, landing in all the wrong places...until he leapt forward and brought a paw down upon the mouse's tail.

A jolt of excitement struck him. "Smudge, Princess!" he whirled around to face them, eager to show off his first catch. "I - "

"Rusty," Princess groaned, her features furrowed in a mask of disappointment. Confused, the ginger tabby turned back to the mouse only to find his paws empty once more.

"But - but I had it! I _swear_ I had it..."

"There!" Smudge exclaimed. Rusty had to turn once more to see the spot that Smudge had gestured to. "You can still get it - "

Just as the words left Smudge's mouth, a lithe black figure leaped down in a graceful arc, paws landing squarely on top of the mouse that Rusty had failed to catch. The cat finished the tiny creature off with a swift nip, their tongue drawing across their mouth to clean droplets of blood away in a flash. They did not acknowledge Rusty or his friends, too focused on their recent kill to pay any attention to a group of kittens.

"Tiny?" Rusty mewed, recognizing the black tom.

Tiny's head turned so that his bright eyes were on the ginger tabby. He blinked, face furrowed with confusion. He was silent for a few passing moments before he slowly pivoted around to face toward Rusty.

"I was kind of, uh..." Rusty began.

"Was this yours?" He questioned, gesturing toward the now still piece of prey with his tail.

"Yeah, it was!" Smudge chimed in as he leapt down from the brick wall. "Rusty was just about to catch it, and then you waltzed right in here and -"

A second figure appeared over the wall, landing neatly beside Tiny. Smudge jumped in alarm, lowered to the ground in fear.

"And caught it before this clumsy kit had a chance to ruin yet another hunting opportunity."

Even Tiny looked annoyed at his friend's sudden appearance. "Brick…" his tone was cautionary.

"What?" She laughed, stalking forward and flicking her tail across Tiny's nose. "Don't tell me you're going to let a bunch of kits bully you into submission. It was _your _catch, not his."

Rusty shifted around uncomfortably, unsure as to whether or not speaking up would result in him getting his ears shredded by Brick.

"But Rusty was after it first," He turned to see that Princess had taken up a spot beside Smudge. "and then Tiny came along and stole it from right under his nose."

Brick sighed loudly, tossing his head back in exasperation. "Why are you so insistent upon arguing about this? Tiny is the one who killed it. If Sparky here was so desperate for such a tiny mouse, he should have acted more efficiently."

Rusty forced his fur to lie flat, aware that Brick was trying to provoke him. He knew that he would end up with some nasty scratches if he allowed himself to be pulled into a fight with the much larger cat.

"Come on," Rusty mewed to Smudge and Princess, meeting Brick's eyes for a brief moment before turning to his friend and his sister. "They aren't worth it."

He heard Brick scoff from behind him as Princess nodded, Smudge reluctantly doing the same. He trotted away from Tiny and Brick with the two of them flanking him, trying to ignore the sound of the older pair of cats muttering under their breath as he went.

* * *

"What a furball!" Smudge scoffed indignantly, the fur on his neck prickled up. "What kind of cat does that? Stroll right in and force us to give up our catch -"

"_My_ catch," Rusty clarified, whiskers twitching anxiously.

"Your catch, then." Smudge huffed. "You know, if they hadn't shown up like that, you totally would have caught it."

"Really?" Rusty mewed dubiously.

"Of course," Princess piped up, trotting forward and brushing her muzzle against his shoulder. "You nearly had it, Rusty! Maybe you'll get something next time."

Princess' encouraging words made him duck his head in embarrassment.

"Maybe you should try the forest. I've heard that it's practically overflowing with mice and birds…" Smudge's whiskers twitched with excitement. "Can you imagine catching a bird?" He touched Rusty's ear with his nose. Rusty nudged Smudge's muzzle away, flicking his ears back.

"I wouldn't risk it," Princess proclaimed. "There might be lots of prey, but…" she trailed off.

"But what?" Rusty prompted curiously.

"Well, you've heard the stories, haven't you? The wild cats...That's how Tiny's other friend got those nasty scars on his nose."

"Ace?" Smudge questioned. "Nah! He totally had Brick attack him on purpose."

Rusty looked at Smudge quizzically.

"To make him look tough, you know?" Smudge continued. "All ragged and torn up."

A small purr of amusement rumbled through Rusty's chest. "Please!" He chuckled. "He's already such a big, ugly brute. He doesn't have any housefolk because they're all too afraid that he'll maul them and their kits."

Smudge nodded eagerly in agreement. "The scars just make him look even worse."

"Oh, I don't think he's that bad…" Princess mewed. She ignored Rusty and Smudge's incredulous looks. "Tiny is a different story, though. I always feel like he's staring straight through me...and there has to be some reason why Ace and Brick follow him around."

Rusty wrinkled his nose. "I don't know, Tiny doesn't seem too strange to me. It's Brick that you have to worry about. I don't think I've ever met a cat as nosy as her."

Princess shrugged. "Well, that's true. He is rather bossy."

"Bossy, annoying, arrogant little mouse stealer - that's what she is!" Smudge exclaimed, scraping his claws on the concrete.

"Shh!" Princess hushed him, dashing forward to prod him with a paw. "He might hear you, and then you'll be nothing but a few scraps of fur."

"Bring it on!" Smudge yowled, earning a sharp glare from Princess. The black and white tom's enthusiasm remained unaffected.

"You might be willing to risk yourself, but I'd rather my pelt stay in tact!" Princess hissed.

Rusty laughed mischievously, creeping up beside Princess while she was distracted by Smudge. "Grrr!" he exclaimed, pouncing at her and sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Rusty!" She chided, pummeling him with her white paws.

"Rusty?" He growled, deepening his voice. "My name is not Rusty! I am Brick, the most annoying cat in the world!" He continued to scuffle with Princess, narrowly avoiding her blows. "Surrender now, or else - oof!" He stumbled backward when a well aimed kick from his sister caught him on his stomach. The brown tabby molly got to her paws, scowling and shaking out her pelt. "That wasn't fair!" Rusty whined, curled up a short distance away.

"You attacked me while I had my back turned!" Princess mewed incredulously. "_That_ is what wasn't fair."

"I was just doing what Brick would have done," he argued, slowly standing up. "What if she attacked you out of nowhere? You need to be prepared."

"You ambushing me for no particular reason won't help prepare me, that's for sure." She sniffed, licking down an untidy white patch of fur on her chest.

"Will too," Rusty grumbled, pouting at Princess' sudden stuck up attitude. Usually she was more than happy to play fight with him.

"It's getting dark." Princess stated, changing the subject. "We should go home -" she glanced briefly at Rusty " - before Brick _actually_ comes after us."

He narrowed his eyes but did not protest - the thought of Brick chasing them through the night was not a thought that appealed to him. He reluctantly skirted around Princess to stand by Smudge, sure that his sister would hiss at him if he got too close.

As the trio began their trip home, Princess trotted ahead of Rusty and Smudge, confirming Rusty's suspicions that she wanted nothing to do with him. He sighed quietly, lowering his head and hunching his shoulders, trudging along the streets.

It was only when Princess was far enough ahead of them that it was difficult for Rusty to distinguish her among the increasing dimness that Smudge pressed close to him.

"So…" Smudge whispered, cautiously keeping his gaze on Princess. "When are we going to ditch her?"

Confusion struck the ginger cat. "What?" He said, coming to a halt.

"What's going on?"

The sound of Princess' voice made Rusty turn his head. She had also stopped, and was now staring over her shoulder back at the pair of them.

"Nothing!" Smudge called before Rusty had a chance to respond.

Princess stared suspiciously at them for a moment more before simply rolling her eyes and continuing onward.

Smudge let out a breath of relief, turning to glare at him. "Nice going, furball! You almost got us caught!" He hissed through clenched teeth.

"_Us_?" This time Rusty was clever enough to lower his voice. "I don't -"

"You aren't really going to obediently follow her home, are you? I thought you wanted to go check out the forest, see if you could catch something."

"I never said that…" he muttered.

"Well you were thinking it, weren't you?" Smudge pushed. "Let's go, Rusty - we could leave now."

"We can't leave now," he fretted, his tail moving back and forth at a rapid pace.

"Why not?" Smudge's voice was taut. "Did Princess' story about Ace scare you?"

"No," he mewed immediately. "I don't...I don't even believe it." He ignored Smudge's suspicious look. "I just - if Princess sees us…" His mind started to race. Thoughts of Princess chasing after them and ending up with scars and a bloodied pelt were most prevalent. Even if Ace hadn't gained his scars from an attack, Rusty didn't want to risk it - he wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that he'd caused his sister to be harmed.

"Rusty -"

"Why don't we wait?" He blurted, hoping to put an end, however brief, to Smudge's urging and prodding. "I'm hungry, I'm sure you are too - why don't we just go home for now? We can eat. Princess won't worry or try to come with us." He could barely see his sister now, she was so far away. "You can get out tonight, right?"

"Of course," Smudge nodded.

"Then that's when we'll go."

Smudge stared at him silently. Rusty worried that he wasn't going to accept the offer, and then: "...Okay."

Rusty was swamped with relief. He leaned forward, brushing his nose to the top of Smudge's head. "Come on," he mewed, strolling forward. "We need to catch up."

"Race you!" Smudge exclaimed suddenly, dashing ahead of him.

Rusty straightened up, taken by surprise. A moment later he was running after Smudge, determined to catch up to the black and white tom. "Not fair!" he called between breaths, paws skimming the concrete. Soon enough he was rushing past Princess, having just enough time to see her confused expression and hear her mutter something imperceptible under her breath before he had passed by her, racing forward in pursuit of his friend.

* * *

The flap of the entrance to his housefolk's den scraped against his spine as he slipped inside, making his lip curl upward in distaste. He didn't understand why they couldn't just leave the door open for him like they had during the sunny season. Sometimes they were _so_ nonsensical.

He meowed loudly as he strolled toward his food bowl, hoping that his housefolk hadn't yet gone to sleep. Sometimes when he stayed out too late they would forget to leave food in his dish, leaving him to go hungry for the night, no matter how persistently he scratched at the blockades they'd set up outside of their rooms.

Rusty's ears perked up at the faint sound of footsteps, his tail waving happily in the air when he spotted one of his housefolk approaching. He meowed once more in greeting, nudging them affectionately. A purr rumbled in his throat when they reached down to run their hand down his back, scratching behind his ears before setting out to fetch his dinner.

Rusty settled down beside his dish, licking a paw and running it across his face while he waited. He thought of Smudge, wondering if he had also reached home by now. He'd likely be curled up at his housefolk's feet as they prepared him a meal of steaming bits of meat. Rusty had always been jealous of the special treatment Smudge received from his twolegs - he had the best food, the kindest housefolk, and he was even allowed to curl up on his housefolk's bed without punishment.

_If _I _ever tried that, my housefolk would leave me in the yard and never let me back in!_

The noise of food clinking softly as it was poured into his bowl pulled Rusty from his thoughts of Smudge. He instantly turned his attention to it, crunching at the small, hardened pieces, occasionally pausing to lick his lips clean of crumbs. At first he ate quickly, gulping down the food, but as his mind began to clear and he remembered the promise he had made to Smudge, his pace began to slow.

Now that he was at home where it was safe and comfortable, the reality of venturing into the forest - a completely foreign and unknown place - was catching up to him. What if Princess' story had been right, and he and Smudge were attacked by a group of vicious forest cats? The thought made him shiver with uncertainty and fear.

_I can't even catch a mouse. If we were attacked, I wouldn't even be able to defend myself._

There was little that Rusty was unwilling to do - Princess had once said he was the bravest cat she knew after he'd tried to catch a fish from a pond in a neighboring yard and had ended up simply pulling himself out of the water after he had accidentally gotten too enthusiastic and fallen in - but with thoughts of wild cats and shadowy forests running through his mind, he couldn't deny that he was having doubts about following Smudge under the cover of the trees in search of prey, especially when he couldn't be sure if he would be capable of catching something.

Rusty paused, staring down blankly at the food that remained in his dish. His appetite was suddenly lacking. With a sigh, the ginger cat turned away from his unfinished meal, his paws pattering quietly against the floor as he weaved his way through the mess that was his home. Eventually he approached a wide pane of clear, solid material that allowed him to gaze outside without ever truly experiencing what was going on on the other side.

The ginger kitten stared up at the surface, preparing to leap up onto the ledge that rested up against it when hesitation caught him once more. He worried about Smudge waiting on the other side, ready to lead him away from the protection of his home and right into the clutches of the forest cats.

Would Smudge listen to him if he said that he didn't want to go? Rusty frowned. Probably not. Smudge was persistent - once he had decided upon something, he never bothered to look back.

A second sigh escaped him as he attempted to formulate an explanation that would convince Smudge to leave him alone and allow him to stay home. As he rifled through his options, Rusty came to the conclusion that Smudge would pester him no matter what he said - and if he tried to back out of the journey into the woods, Rusty was sure that he'd have to endure constant teasing and jabs from Smudge about his lack of courage.

"I can do it," Rusty mewed to himself. He felt a bit silly for talking to himself - out loud, no less - but he brushed it off quickly. Setting his sights once again for the front door, Rusty continued forward with his head held high, doing all he could to ensure that he exuded confidence and bravery.

The scrape of the flap barely caught his attention this time. He was far too focused on the task in front of him to care for anything unrelated. As he crossed his yard, he imagined that the grass he felt underneath his paws was the tall, unruly grass of the forest. The fences that surrounded him were trees, tall and intimidating but still conquerable.

Moonlight made the scenery in front of him pallid with silver light. He supposed that once he was in the forest, he would no longer have the light of the moon nor the stars to guide him. He would simply have to rely on his instincts.

_That's not too difficult. I can do that._

Rusty crossed yards and leapt over fences as he made the short trip to Smudge's residence. He knew automatically where to turn, what paths were the best to take. This made him more comfortable - clearly navigation came naturally to him. Perhaps finding a way to get through the forest wouldn't be so challenging after all.

"Smudge!" he called as he approached the black and white tom's house. "I'm ready, Smudge!"

There was silence, and then the sudden sound of rustling as Smudge poked his head out from his own door. "Geez, Rusty!" His voice was hushed but pointed. "You don't need to be so loud!"

Rusty looked sternly at Smudge. "If I hadn't been, you'd still be curled up inside." Smudge looked vaguely annoyed by his comment, but Rusty pushed onward. "Now hurry up. We need to go before our housefolk find us missing and start to call for us."

"Alright, _alright_." Smudge groaned, wriggling outside. He clearly didn't appreciate Rusty's snappish tone. "Why are you so eager all of the sudden? I thought I was going to have to drag you by your tail to get you to come along."

Rusty lowered his ears. Smudge _had_ doubted him. "Why would you think that? I've always wanted to go see the forest."

"Really?" Smudge asked skeptically. "Cause -"

"Really," Rusty insisted, cutting Smudge off before he could say anything else.

Smudge fell silent, making Rusty fear that he would call him out on his bluff. Finally, the smaller tom grinned, his eyes lit with excitement. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

A breath of relief escaped the ginger tabby. There would be no more pestering from Smudge - he could finally relax and focus on successfully making a trip to and from the forest.

Rusty tailed Smudge as he led the way out of his yard and out onto the streets. He occasionally glanced behind himself to check that no one was following them - after all, one of the two had to be diligent, and Smudge was busy chattering away about all the possible discoveries to be made deep within the woods.

As the pair came closer and closer to the edge of the forest, an impending sense of dread began to grow within Rusty. He continually pushed it down with reassuring words to himself - _it's fine, you'll be fine, you're going to have a great time_ \- but it resurfaced whenever he allowed himself a break from whispering words within his own head.

Smudge and Rusty passed house by house, winding through the streets. When they passed a house with a tall white fence with barely a gap between the planks, the harsh noise of a dog barking and yelping made both young cats jump in shock. The fact that Smudge also seemed to be at least slightly on edge provided a minimal source of comfort for Rusty, but it did not do much to relieve his worries.

After what seemed like both a lifetime of traveling and the briefest of moments, the two finally arrived at the spot they had paused at earlier while walking with Princess.

"We're here," Smudge announced, as if Rusty was oblivious to the fact.

"We're here." Rusty nodded, hoping that his voice did not tremble and betray the nervousness he truly felt. They stood beside a fence much unlike the one that had obscured the noisy dog from them - this one was made of a hard, cold material that shone brightly underneath the moonlight. The forest that laid beyond it was completely, utterly clear. Rusty was so aware of its nearness that he swore he could have counted each blade of grass that sprawled out in a messy field in front of them.

Smudge gestured toward a small gap at the bottom of the fence where the material was torn and frayed, tinged with a faint crimson shade. "We can make it under here," he said, glancing back at Rusty. The black and white tom's eyes were just as wide as Rusty expected his were. "Then we'll be there. We'll really be there." He mewed, voice colored with disbelief.

Rusty gazed ahead at the break in the fence, focused in on where the grass reached up to brush the broken concrete. Once he and Smudge slipped underneath the fence, they would be transported into an entirely different world. Gathering all of the courage he possessed, Rusty mewed quietly, "I'll go first."

Smudge did not protest, although Rusty wished that he would. He simply watched with those wide, starstruck eyes that seemed to urge Rusty forward.

With one last glance back at the rows of houses and fences, Rusty stepped forward before he had a chance to turn back. He slid neatly underneath the fence, away from all he had ever known, venturing forward into the wild.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I had planned on posting this yesterday because I wanted to keep updates to every Saturday, but it slipped my mind, so here it is now! Again, this was really minimally edited and any mistakes are all mine.

* * *

The first thing that Rusty noticed about the forest was how incredibly immense it was. He had gazed out upon the forest plenty of times, but he had never realized the enormity of it. Even from his position just outside the fence he had not been able to understand how expansive the cover of trees, the tangle of grass and undergrowth, the scattered bushes that prickled with thorns and unruly branches, truly was.

He was so enraptured by the grandness of it that he hardly noticed Smudge squirming underneath the fence behind him, muttering words that seemed intangible and unimportant when compared to what Rusty was currently witnessing. The forest in its entirety seemed to spread out before him, revealing a new secret with every step forward. The territory before him was covered in shadows and surrounded by an air of mystery, but Rusty had never felt more aware and alert in his lifetime.

Finally, with a sharp prod in the side, Smudge managed to draw Rusty's attention.

"What was that for?" Rusty hissed in annoyance, whipping around to glare at Smudge. The spotted tom had shrunk low to the ground, looking infinitely more uncertain than he had when they had approached the forest.

"You looked like you were in a trance," Smudge explained, straightening his back slightly. "You could have wandered off and ended up who knows where, and then you'd never have a chance of catching something."

"Oh." Rusty mewed, his temper quickly dissipating. "Well, you didn't have to be so harsh about it," he muttered, turning back to face the line of trees that became increasingly more dense and tightly woven the further he looked.

"Whatever," Smudge mewed dismissively, flicking his tail across Rusty's side. He padded forward until he was just slightly ahead and then paused, turning his head this way and that.

"What are you doing?" Rusty questioned, thinking that Smudge looked a bit like a very confused owl.

"Shh," Smudge insisted. "I'm figuring out where we should hunt."

This only served to further Rusty's confusion. "Why would you do that? We have the entire forest to explore. I'm sure we'll find something."

"Duh!" Smudge scoffed. "But if we go too far we won't have enough time to go hunting and get back before the sun comes up." He hesitated, considering something. "Plus we could end up getting lost, and you don't really have the skills to sustain us, do you?"

Annoyance flared up almost as soon as it had vanished. Smudge was being an absolute furball. "It's not like you're any good at hunting either!" He mewed crossly, marching forward with his nose stuck in the air. He moved forward at a steady pace, determined to put some distance between himself and Smudge. He didn't need his friend's criticism.

"Rusty!" Smudge huffed, clearly sounding frustrated. Rusty ignored him, continuing onward. He would catch something with or without Smudge's help. He was beginning to search for any signs of nearby prey, all the while getting as far away as he could from Smudge. He didn't bother to check if he was pursuing him, instead choosing to focus on the task that he had set out into the forest to accomplish - finally catching something.

As Rusty delved deeper into the woods, he became more and more entangled in the assortment of plants that seemed to cover every single visible surface. There were patches of green covering every tree he passed, and his paws became tangled in undergrowth with each pawstep. Still he persisted, determination driving him forward.

Eventually he reached a break in the plant growth. A small clearing surrounded by trees laid a few pawsteps in front of him. Rusty couldn't help but find relief in the fairly clear area - he had begun to worry about becoming so tangled up in the plants that he wouldn't be able to find his way out of the forest, much less hunt.

Although he spotted no traces of mice or birds or any other creatures, Rusty figured that the clearing was as good of a place as any to practice his stalking. Maybe being in the middle of the forest would help him hone his skills.

Crouching low to the ground, Rusty focused in on a small pebble that was a short distance away, pretending as if it were a mouse. He crept forward, slowly placing one paw in front of the other, and then -

_Oof!_

All of Rusty's breath was knocked out of him as a solid, heavy object collided with his side, bowling him over into the grass and dirt of the forest floor. He could distantly hear Smudge calling for him, but was too dazed to make any sense of the words. The rustling of grass was the only sound he was sure of as he attempted to haul himself upward.

He had just barely managed to stand when another blow hit him, this time a sharp strike across the face. The prick of claws made him aware that his attacker was another cat, which sent a jolt of panic rushing through him. Princess had been right after all - if only he had listened to her!

Desperately lashing out in a pathetic attempt at defending himself, Rusty landed a sloppy hit on the unknown attacker. Despite the clumsiness of his attack, the fact that he had been successful urged the ginger tabby onward. He blinked a few times to clear his vision, and eventually discovered that his opponent was a gray cat not much larger than him, with long fur and bright yellow eyes that glowed in the dimness of the forest.

There was a flash of teeth as the cat lunged at him. Rusty narrowly avoided the long haired cat's charge, allowing himself to fall backward in order to escape. He fell to the ground with a thump, dizzy and stunned. His head was reeling, but he knew he could not allow himself a break. Forcing himself to his paws, Rusty located the gray cat once more and rushed toward them, sending both sprawling across the forest floor. The slightly larger cat fell back -

"Graypaw!" A shriek rang out through the forest, echoing in Rusty's ears and making him cringe away from his competitor. He sought out the source of the shriek - surely there had to be another cat around - when he spotted a lanky black cat with a patch of white on their chest hurrying toward him and the still dazed gray cat.

_Another attacker? _Rusty was beginning to panic at the prospect of fighting two cats - he had barely been able to defend himself against the first - and then Smudge's spotted pelt appeared amongst the plants. Relief flooded Rusty, but when Smudge did not approach him and instead followed closely behind the unknown black cat, panic began to bubble up once more. Why had his friend not instantly made a beeline for him when he was clearly in trouble? Rusty turned away from Smudge to glance over at the other unfamiliar cat.

Their eyes were broad and full of fear. They shook visibly as they approached, muttering quick streams of words under their breath. "Oh, great StarClan, what have you gotten yourself into, Graypaw? Lionheart is going to be so upset when he -"

Suddenly the cat fell silent, turning to look at Rusty as if he had just realized he was there. Rusty was almost certain he heard the little cat squeak.

_This is your chance. You have to take control._

"Who are you?" Rusty demanded, taking a step toward the anxious black cat. "Who are _both_ of you?"

"Rusty, wait." He turned to see that Smudge had inched closer to him. "He's not dangerous -"

Rusty scowled. "Not dangerous? This one here was ready to rip my throat out!" He gestured at the gray cat with his paw.

The smaller black cat winced at this. "Oh, Graypaw…" he murmured under his breath.

Smudge cast a suspicious glance at the gray cat - was that who the black one was referring to as Graypaw? - and then looked back to Rusty. He looked as if he was preparing to speak just as the gray cat finally spoke up.

"Who are _we_?" They muttered, groaning as they hauled themself to their paws. "Who are _you_? You're the one who's trespassing!"

"Graypaw, _please_," the black cat urged, rushing forward to create a barrier between Rusty and Graypaw. "They're just kittypets, they didn't know."

Rusty's face furrowed in confusion. He looked over at Smudge, mouthing, "Kittypets?"

Smudge did not reply, simply nodding toward the black cat. Rusty flicked his tail in annoyance, forcing his fur to lie flat.

Finally Graypaw turned their attention away from Rusty and toward Smudge. "There are _two _of you?" They mewed in dismay. "I only saw -"

"Smudge -" The black cat paused to nod at the black and white tom. "He was with me. I caught him wandering around, and he looked like he needed help…and then we saw you and -" He paused once more, now looking to Rusty. "Um."

"Rusty," he said reluctantly, still suspicious of the two forest cats.

"We saw you fighting Rusty and - well, Smudge told me that he had a friend but said they'd been separated and I told him that I'd try to help him find…" He trailed off, gaze flitting between the three other cats. He looked absolutely hopeless.

Smudge instantly jumped in. "So Ravenpaw here told me that he'd help me find you, Rusty - I was worried that if I didn't go after you, you'd never find your way out of here - and then he said that he'd also lost track of a friend, so I worked on tracking you and he worked on tracking...Graypaw?" He looked to the small cat - Ravenpaw - for confirmation. He nodded, urging Smudge onward. "And then...well, then I guess we found you. Ravenpaw told me to stay back, but once the two of you had stopped fighting, I figured it was safe to come out." He looked at Rusty and Graypaw with wide eyes, although he did not look fearful like Ravenpaw did. "It seemed like you two were going to _kill _each other!"

Graypaw visibly brightened at this. "Really?" They mewed a little too enthusiastically.

"Really," Ravenpaw pitched in. "Graypaw, you could have seriously -"

Ignoring Ravenpaw, Graypaw laughed, their thick, bushy tail waving joyfully. "Ha! I _am _becoming a better warrior!"

Ravenpaw rolled his eyes at his friends outburst. "We only just started our training, Graypaw. You're not even close to being a warrior."

Every word that came out of Ravenpaw and Graypaw's mouths only contributed to Rusty's confusion. _What on earth are these two talking about?_

"Well maybe I just need to test out my battle skills again!" Graypaw quipped. Now turning toward Rusty, Graypaw mewed, "Come on, kittypet. You up for another battle?" They sounded teasing despite their challenging words.

Ravenpaw let out a defeated sigh, shaking his head in resignation. Rusty was sure that he heard him mutter, "Please ignore him," under his breath.

"What's a kittypet?" Rusty mewed, not enjoying the new nickname that Graypaw had provided him with.

A grin spread across the gray cat's face. "Do you really not know?" He chuckled, all signs of aggression gone. "You put up a decent fight for a tame kitty, but you don't seem too clever!"

Flattening his ears against his head, Rusty hissed, "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Great StarClan!" He exclaimed, shaking his head disapprovingly. "There's no reason to be so rude. I won't pick a fight with you again, I promise. Though I guess I can't say the same for my clanmates..." Graypaw gazed at Ravenpaw. "You don't think Sandpaw or Dustpaw followed us, do you?"

Ravenpaw shifted uncomfortably. "No. At least I hope…" He shook his head. "No, definitely not. They were sound asleep."

Rusty listened attentively to their conversation, his frustration growing when he was still unable to piece anything together.

Remembering that Rusty had asked him a question, Graypaw whipped back around toward the ginger cat. "Anyway," he meowed, hesitating. "...Uh, what was it that you wanted to know?" His head tilted to the side as he spoke.

"What's a kittypet?" Rusty repeated, this time a bit more forcefully.

"Oh, right!" Graypaw nodded. "Well, a kittypet is what you are! You live in a den with twolegs, right?"

"He means housefolk," Smudge clarified.

"Housefolk, then." Graypaw said. "They're the ones who put that horrible thing -" He stopped to indicate Rusty's bright blue collar with a wave of his tail. "- around your neck."

"So...a kittypet is a housecat?" He directed this question at Smudge, who seemed to be a lot more knowledgeable about the strange words the forest cats used.

"Mhm," Smudge nodded. He glanced over at Graypaw, then at Ravenpaw. "These two...they're from the forest."

"Just like the cats in Princess' story."

"Except they aren't dangerous."

Rusty mewed, "Yeah, right," at the same time as Graypaw yelped, "Hey!" in an indignant tone.

"They aren't _as_ dangerous," Smudge amended, looking anxiously at Graypaw, whose fur had started to bristle.

Rusty took a moment to allow the flood of new information to sink in fully. Despite the ragged appearance of Graypaw, the way he was clearly wild and unruly, and the unusual way in which Ravenpaw's bones were visible beneath his silky black pelt, Rusty was having a difficult time comprehending the situation - he was actually speaking to real live forest cats.

"So…" he examined Graypaw and Ravenpaw, subconsciously comparing the pair of them to himself and Smudge. "You...you really live here? In the forest?"

"Yep!" Graypaw responded instantly. "This is our home - we live here, sleep here, fight here, hunt here…" He laughed a bit. "I don't know how any cat can bear to live anywhere else."

"But isn't it hard living here on your own?" Rusty inquired. Despite his initial disdain for the gray cat who had attacked him, he couldn't help but feel impressed. It took courage to take a single pawstep into the forest, much less to actually inhabit it.

"Oh, we don't live alone!" Graypaw shook his head. "That _would _be hard."

"Graypaw?" Ravenpaw piped up, trying to grab the attention of the chatty gray cat. "We should...we should probably be going -"

"We actually live together with our clanmates. There are a lot of us...well, there are less of us now than we've had before, but still a lot. We all work together like one big team."

"Graypaw, we _really_ need to go…"

Graypaw huffed, finally turning to look at Ravenpaw. "_Okay_, Ravenpaw!" When the black cat winced backward, Graypaw's face softened considerably. "Sorry," he muttered, this time speaking much more quietly. Turning back to Rusty and Smudge, Graypaw mewed, "Well, I guess we've gotta go. Our clan will go wild if they find us missing - they'll send out a search patrol and everything!"

"Wait," Rusty mewed, stepping forward to block Graypaw's path before he could dart away. "Do you think that we could meet here again?"

Graypaw's eyes widened. "Of course we can't!" He hissed, making Rusty's ears flatten against his head. "Look, kittypet, if you show up here again and one of my clanmates catches you...well, they won't be as forgiving as Ravenpaw and I."

"Forgiving?" Rusty echoed, hoping for more of an explanation - but Graypaw had already skirted around him, Ravenpaw hurrying after his much larger companion. Rusty stared after them in wonder, watching as they vanished into the undergrowth of the forest.

"So." Smudge's voice drew his attention, although his mind was still buzzing with thoughts of the two forest cats. "Um, we should probably...go. I don't think Graypaw was kidding when he said..." the black and white tom trailed off for a moment. "And I'm pretty tired, anyway - aren't you tired?"

"Yeah," Rusty replied, nodding. His voice sounded distant and far away. "Yeah, we should go."

Smudge looked relieved, as if he had expected an argument, some form of protest. "Come on then," he mewed. "If we hurry we can get back before Princess wakes up."

He pictured his sister for a moment, the way her eyes would light up with worry and fear if she woke to find them gone. She'd dash off somewhere in a panic, and would surely end up getting herself in trouble. The thought spurred him onward, breaking the hold that the forest seemed to have over him. He nodded once more, following behind Smudge as they padded in the direction of the fence, away from the spot in which he had encountered Graypaw and Ravenpaw, the spot in which he had gotten his first taste of the world of tangled tree branches and cats with ragged fur and bright eyes.


End file.
